itwassorotten,whenmywifesawitshejust
said,‘Youain’tdoingthat!’
“Irememberthinkingthisisgoingtotake
yeaaars.Well,itdidtakeyears–sixandahalf
yeaaars–andIhadmytwokidsinthemiddle
ooofffiiittt,,,bbbuuutttIII’vvveeedddooonnneeeiiittt...IIIcccaaannngggeeetttooonnnwwwiiittthhhmmmyyy
lifeagainnow.”
Skindeep
“Iwantedittobepractical,andcomfortable
todrive,sofirstIremovedalltheoldash
framingandstrippedthecabtoabareskin.
ThenIchoppedit–onlyaboutthreeinches–
andrebuilttheinnerframeworkinsteel,with
ahiddenrollcagetogiveitsomestrength,
andsomewheretofitpropersafetybelts.”
Wantingtoretainthefeeloftheoriginal
Austin,Steveninitiallyplannedtoretain
thewings,runningboardsand21-inch
wirewheels,buttheyallsortoffellbythe
waysideastheprojectevolved.Thedoors
andtheoriginalfabricsunroofwerekept
andsomeoftheAustinparts,suchasthe
wind-outwindscreenmechanism.
Justabouteverythingelsehadtobemade
fromscratch.“Iboughtmyselfadecent
welderafewyearsago,andit’sjustpractice
isn’tit?”hesays.Andtherewascertainly
plentytopracticeonhere.“It’sbeenwelded
somuchit’sgotlikeavolcaniccurvetoit.”
Frameup
TheeeframeistheoriginalAustinTwelveone,
butboxed,z’d,withaModelAfrontand
hhhooommmmeeemmmaaadddeeecccrrrooossssssmmmeeemmmbbbeeerrrsssaaannndddssstttrrreeetttccchhheeeddd
about 12 inchesinthefrontsection.Moreon
thatlater.
Wantingtokeepthebuildtraditionalin
nature,thefrontaxleisaSo-Caldropped’n’
drilledIbeamsuspendedonatransverseleaf
springandwithFordPopleverarmshocks,
heldinplacebySpeedwayMotorsbatwings
andhomemadehairpinradiusrods.There’s
aGMdiscbrakekitontheretoo,asthiswas
builttobedriven.
TherearaxleisaGM10-boltoutofan’
IROC-ZCamaro,hangingonabuggyspring
onahomemadecrossmeeember,ladderbars
andPanhardrod.Eventhhherearspringhasa
tttaaallleeetttooottteeellllllttthhhooouuuggghhh...“IIIdddiiiddddnnn’tttwwwaaannntttiiitttssstttiiiccckkkiiinnnggg
upthroughthebedsoIlookedforthe
flattestspringIcouldfind,andthatwasone
fromaWolseleySix.Iendedupdoublingup
thespringpacktogetittosithowIwanted
soitlookslikeaScammellrearspringnow,
butitworksperfectly,andI’veevenkeptthe
originalAustinleverarmdampers.”
Thoughitallcametogetherlaterinthe
build,thesteeringisatriumph.Andnot
withacapitalT.Havinggonethroughfour
differentsteeringboxestryingtofindone
AUGUST 2019 CUSTOMCAR 13
Stevenre-madethepick-up
bedfrom
scratch,incorporating
achoppedup
early’60’sChevytailgate
.It’sloosely
basedonaModelAb
edinstyle,but
iscurvedatthefront
andbackto
matchthecurveofthe
cab.
Nopolishedhardwood
here,just
rough-hewnboards
andahidden
compartmentthathouses
thebattery,
toolsandajack.
➜The200ciThriftpowerinlinesixcame
outofa 1978 FordFairmont.Stevehas
sincerebuiltitandequippeditwitha
Weber38DGAScarb,electronicignitionand
intakeandexhaustmanifoldsfromClifford
PerformanceinCalifornia.
It’sevengotO 2 sensorsandaFASTair/fuel
meter,whichStevensayswasworthevery
pennyofthe£500itcostasitmeanshecan
pluginandtunethemotoratthedropofahat.
ThealiradiatorisHondaCivic,modifiedfor
StevenbyJohnatArmourFabrications